As the sport marched blindly into the four-stroke epoch, the two-stroke fell out of favor. There was a time when moto- cross racers sold their CR250, KX250, RM250 and YZ250
two-strokes on the used-bike market for a fraction of their worth. In
fact, you couldn’t give a two-stroke away in 2004. Everyone wanted
a four-stroke; nobody wanted a two-stroke. Oh, there were the few
diehards, by virtue of stubbornness or cheapness, who refused to
switch from two to four, but over time every entry-level racer’s first
thoughts turned to valves and cams. The two-stroke was relegated
to Craigslist. What a shame, a crying shame, because what the sport
has always needed is good, inexpensive racing motorcycles—and
not since the glory days of Hodaka has the world gotten what it
needed. Instead, it gets what the status-seeking, sheep-like followers